Philippine Cinema 2016: 10 Best Scenes

One of the categories that we’re always excited to see the results for is Best Scene. We first included the category in 2012, where the opening mermaid scene of Kalayaan was chosen as the top scene. In 2013, Jhong Hilario beating up a heavily pregnant Mercedes Cabral after finding out her treachery in Badil topped the poll, and in 2014, the Dagitab beach scene with Eula Valdez and Martin del Rosario was the voters’ favorite. In 2015, Luna’s assassination in Heneral Luna was the runaway winner.

This year, we are even more excited to present the best scenes because, aside from voters’ thoughts on why they loved the scenes, we included notes from the filmmakers (directors, writers, producers) themselves.

Archie del Mundo (DList.ph): “Jaclyn Jose’s Rosa Reyes is the roving eyes that envisage the profound effects of abjection in the community where she is resigned to keeping her head above its muddy water. Therefore, that final scene where all the day’s tragic happenstances come ebbing down her throat in a moment’s rest – reflects the harrowing reality that nothing will give her immediate comfort and release. Not even those tasty street foods she chomped while directing her stares back to the bigger picture – which is once again a portrait of a Filipino family scraping by in the poorest of conditions.”

Troy Espiritu (writer): “Ma’ Rosa was initially titled ‘Palit-Ulo‘, derived from a typical extortion activity of the police that has been existing for quite a while under our noses and yet few of us know of. It was inspired from an actual event in 2012 and, after being shelved for 2 years, I was entrusted by Direk Brillante Mendonza and our mentor, Armando Lao to write it.

I wrote the screenplay into 4 acts; each has its own punctuation or statement scenes. But generally, what we want to show in each punctuation, especially in the last scene of the film, is that the life of a typical Filipino family runs on small retail or the concept of “tingi”, which is uniquely Filipino. They go to a sari-sari store to buy a small sachet of shampoo and make the most out of it. They go to a convenient store to buy 10 or 20 peso-load instead of a 500 call card. Even vices are being bought in small retail: from cigarettes to shabu. In times when they are in conflict with the law, justice is also commoditized by the police in small retail. And in times of need, we give our importance for family through small contributions or ‘sa abot ng makakaya.’

However, that unique and extraordinary trait of Filipinos can sometimes be dangerous. Most of the time, we tend to compromise what’s right for the love of family members even when that love becomes amoral.

We made some quick adjustments during the shoot. Originally in the script, Rosa was supposed to pass by a karinderya along the talipapa after pawning her daughter’s cellphone. While eating, she sees an ideal family across her table enjoying their dinner. However, there was no karinderya along the talipapa in our actual location and Direk Brillante was thinking of a more powerful visual punctuation for the film’s ending but with the same message. So our only alternative was to use what was available in the location: a fishball stand and a mobile sari-sari store.

We shot the last scene twice and both were guerrilla shoots with limited crowd control. Jaclyn, being a well-immersed actress, did a great job in blending in with the people along Barangka Drive. But we had to move fast because the longer we stayed, the more she was being recognized by pedestrians.

The reason why we shot it twice is because Jaclyn was not supposed to cry in that scene because we were afraid that the scene might become melodramatic and ruin the overall design of the film.. But while editing the film, we thought something was missing. We felt the character needed to be more relatable, especially her reflections about what happened to them; her remorse, perhaps her guilt if there’s any, or maybe just plain hunger since how can you eat properly if you’re being held by policemen in 24 hours? So Direk Brillante called Jaclyn for a reshoot, this time giving her the moment to cry. And upon watching the second cut in post-prod, I could already feel she might win best actress if we were allowed to enter the main competition in Cannes.”

James Espinoza (Film Police): “Arguably the best scene in Ang Babaeng Humayo is when Horacia and Hollanda sing a medley of “Sunrise, Sunset” (from Fiddler in the Roof), “Somewhere” (West Side Story), and “Kapag Tumibok ang Puso” because it encapsulates the themes of the film. “I don’t remember growing older; when did they?” Time has been harsh on both Horacia and Hollanda, who, in their journey toward revenge and redemption, no longer recognize the world surrounding them. Assuming a maternal figure, Horacia comforts Hollanda by assuring her that “there’s a place for us, somewhere, a place for us…” However, Hollanda, who is completely resigned to her fate and probably too afraid to confront her situation, suggests that they instead sing the typical videoke go-to song “Kapag Tumibok ang Puso” and just have fun. The scene is quite enjoyable at the literal level as well. A nineties pop song by Donna Cruz seems out of place in a Lav Diaz film, but it totally works here, and props must be given to Charo Santos and John Lloyd Cruz for grooving to sharaaam dharaaam.”

Robert Cerda (Space-Aso): “Who could forget that enchanting hawk dance of Aunor, trampling other dance scenes in Philippine cinema in regard to impact? There is no striptease there, only a woman garbed in traditional tribal mandarin dress, with arms stretched as if readying to fly, regal with each step. When the camera moves to close-ups of her face and does a circular dolly track shot , we gasp and our hearts flutter at the different shades of the face aged with wisdom and grace, lighted and shaded, the figure absorbing all the warmth, magic and energy around her, and immediately returns to us her mini-explosions of her own magic. In the seeming interminable minutes of the sequence, we don’t complain. We are happy to be intoxicated and we recover thankful for the much needed internal mini paroxysms.”

Roderick Cabrido (director): “The scene was inspired by one of the dances performed by a ‘binukot’ in Ilo-ilo. I wanted the dance sequence to be authentic as possible so we asked a former ‘binukot’ to teach Ms. Nora the movements and the precise steps of the dance. I also wanted the scene to be performed in the evening with emphasis as to the bonfire lighting up most areas of the set so as to give the audience a more realistic experience of the setting when the Sugidanon tribe of Ilo-ilo would celebrate festivities in their community. ”

Emil Hofileña (Cinemil Movie Reviews/The Neighborhood): “No local movie scene in 2016 was as simultaneously beautiful, disturbing, sexy, and heartbreaking as the scene wherein Jewel (Ryza Cenon) finally transforms into a mananannggal onscreen in Ang Manananggal sa Unit 23B. As soon as Jewel begins touching herself, we know what’s about to happen. As an audience we are curious to see her change, but as viewers who have grown attached to her character, we don’t want to see her become a monster. Through Cenon’s tortured performance, the intensity of the music, and Prime Cruz’s spinning camera, we are made to feel the pain Jewel feels as she hopelessly fights against herself. So when her spine punctures through her skin and her wings reveal themselves, it’s awe-inspiring but also incredibly tragic. Just when we thought her newfound friendships could save her, she becomes the ultimate femme fatale.”

Prime Cruz (director): “The last transformation scene was the seed for the entire film. It was the first scene that came into my head and we tried to build the story from there. The manananggal transformation in the old mannanggal films have always fascinated me as a kid. A woman screaming and then splitting in half left an indelible mark in my brain. Years later, I rewatched those scenes and I thought that the manananggals looked like they were orgasming. And I thought maybe the manananggal transformation was a sort of orgasm. And it intrigued me that the woman is being split from her bottom half, her most powerful half, the half that makes her a woman. And she leaves this half behind.

The hardest part to shoot was the top spinning shot because we had to coordinate everything and time it to music. I wanted the shot to feel like the “ascent” right before a climax… Music was playing during the scene, tapos pinatungan sa post. We had to do it that way for the timing. Meaning the camera had to be in the right spot at a certain time, and Ryza had to orgasm at the right time.

So we used the orgasm as the central idea, that’s why her winghole where the wings come out kinda looks like a vagina. Ryza did a sensuality workshop with Angeli Bayani, for the masturbation and sex scenes.

A lot of our budget went into effects. I knew we could only afford one transformation scene if we wanted to do it well so I told our writer na sa script pa lang, let’s make it in such a way na isa lang ang transformation.”

John Tawasil (Present Confusion): “The cave scene in Baboy Halas left me breathless. Initially I groped in the dark, wondering what would happen next. But as I realized what is going on in the cave, it becomes a strange kind of transcendental magic, even if written descriptions of the scene sound mundane. It is something best seen and experienced, rather than read through a synopsis, something that applies to Baboy Halas as a whole.”

Bagane Fiola (writer/director): “The cave scene was shot the way we had envisioned it. It’s a one-take good take because it was very sacred to them. So everything was carefully planned before we rolled camera… The lines did not appear scripted, maybe because we managed to produce something that’s between a documentary and a (narrative) film. We were working with lumad who are obviously non-actors and who played roles that are close to their characters in real life. We guided them with the dialogues and at the same time we let them converse the way they communicate in their own native way. And also, the crew had an immersion with the lumad, to learn their culture and their way of life long before the shooting period.”

Json Javier (The Spotless Mind): “In a documentary filled with bittersweet stories on the plight of OFWs in Hong Kong, the most memorable scene had the least amount of dialogue. Set against a gorgeous sunset, we see Hazel trying to hold back her emotions while watching the graduation of her child through a smartphone (the sadness compounded further by a terrible connection). Although she spoke a few times to explain why she couldn’t make it and also for them to fix the view, most of her reactions were limited to sighs of longing and regret. This scene perfectly encapsulated the heartbreaking struggles that these women face on a daily basis and it gave us another reason to call them queens in their own right.”

Chuck Gutierrez (producer): “Our kababayans in HK are only allowed to take a vacation sometimes once every two years. They need to ask permission from their employers months in advance. Sometimes, an employer can decide at the very last minute to cancel it due to personal reasons. That’s what happened to Hazel. Her British employer needed to leave HK for work and he requested Hazel to stay to take care of the house and the dog, Scrappy. Hazel couldn’t attend to her eldest son’s graduation. Hazel’s three sons are taken care of by her mother and sister in Ilocos. The sister was the one on the other line documenting the graduation of Hazel’s son… The signal was very choppy. Yung sound lang yung malinaw. In the end the sister just took pictures and sent them to Hazel via Viber.

After watching SBQ, Hazel’s son became ‘closer’ to her. The son would often message her where she is and ask what she is doing. Hazel is happy that her son finally understands her work in HK.”

Mikoy Fernandez (Mga Katha ng Haraya): “The thing I loved the most about the Hugot Levels scene is how truly witty and funny it is. While the lines in itself were funny, I think it was Eugene Domingo and Jericho Rosales’chemistry that really made the scene work in its absurdity. In addition, it’s so funny how the writer actually came up with an analysis of hugot lines that made sense while at the same time still poking fun at those really cheesy or corny lines from melodramas.”

Nazamel Tabares (Pelikula Mania): “Not only for Pangilinan’s underrated performance, the scene is compelling, truthful and painful, all at the same time.”

Randolph Longjas (director): “We have always portrayed mothers as loving and nurturing people. It is embedded in their genes to do so. However, everything changes when the child born has Down Syndrome. The bathing scene of the baby marks the day that nothing would ever be the same again to Nadia (Candy). Emotions are replaced by anxiety, sorrow, denial, and anger. I wanted to show how imperfect of a mother she was. That in that short moment of time, she considered ending her misery and the misery to come for her baby. Purely, this scene represents the struggle of acceptance of raising a kid with Down Syndrome. I already knew from the very beginning that mounting this powerful scene won’t be easy. I had to seek advice from the Down Syndrome Association of the Philippines (DSAPI) on how to handle it with utmost sensitivity. Come shooting proper, Candy prepared so hard emotionally because the senses of a child with Down Syndrome are sensitive that they could sense fear. And the baby felt it. Candy was battling with her emotions on how to translate denial visually but at the same time handle the baby as if its life depends on her. And she really did a good job. I was convinced to the point that I hated Nadia for doing it to that cute child.”

8 (tie) – Vince begs his mother to fight for him as her son (Vince & Kath & James) 7 points

Daisy Cayanan, Kim Noromor, and Anjanette Haw (writers): “That has to be the most selfless act of love – to love no matter what, to love regardless of everything.

In collaboration with our director, we have characterized VINCE (Joshua Garcia) as someone who selflessly gives out love. A product of a forbidden relationship, he grew up believing he is a reminder of the sin of her mother Belinda (Ina Raymundo); hence, he will never be worthy of love. That’s why he must always give whatever he has and he can so that people around him will accept and eventually love him despite him being a “product of a sin”.

As the story progressed, Vince’s selfless love took a toll on him. Such he learned the hard way when he kept his genuine love for KATH (Julia Barretto) behind the filters of his own making, all for his cousin JAMES (Ronnie Alonte). At the point where the truth was out, he has let his insecurities eat him up in front of the woman he loves. For him, to love always means to let go of everything even if it means everything to him.

So he started questioning himself… why does it always have to be like this? When will he, a product of a sin, be ever loved the way he loves others?

It all boils down to how Vince is with Belinda. Much as she’s his source of love, Belinda is also Vince’s source of “bubog” in love.

In this scene where Belinda is begging him to save James again, Vince asked her back why she cannot save her own son instead. It’s like his character screaming “Why can’t you love me back?” It’s him asking his own mom to save him, to defend him, and to love him no matter what and regardless of everything.

Hence, this scene is very much pivotal in Vince’s character journey. What happened here freed him from the truth about love that he’s been filtering all his life.

Theodore Boborol (director): “In forming the characters, the writers and I sat down and had a one-on-one in depth interview with the actors. I requested for it because hindi ko sila kilala so I had to know their story, their strength, ano ang kanilang strong and charismatic character values as a person. I did that because they’re newbies so I didn’t want their characters to veer away from their real personality.

Now pagdating kay Joshua or Vince, tumatak sa akin ang moment niya inside the PBB house with his mother. Nag-separate kasi in real life ang kanyang mother and father when he was young and napunta siya sa kanyang father. After that, wala nang paki sa kanya ang mother niya. Yun ang “bubog” niya in real life. Hindi niya alam why. When he was younger and nagkikita pa sila, parang walang paki ang mother niya sa kanya. He feels na walang love sa kanya. Dun namin na-form ang ‘What if product si Vince ng extramarital affair ng kanyang mama and so he’s the unwanted son?’ So parang in a way, the core of Vince is similar to Joshua’s and so my challenge was just for him to be truthful with his acting, to be as sincere and as authentic as possible.

Even before shoot, I already challenged the actors na wala pa kaming apat na napatunayan! And so all I asked from them is be truthful in acting, and just “be” the character. Ang background ko kasi sa acting workshop is Eric Morris’ “being”, kasi yun ang na-attendan kong workshop before with Direk Laurice Guillen sa film school.

Anyway so back to the scene, it’s a pivotal scene in the movie because it’s a turning point in Vince’s character. For the first time, he is able to express how he truly feels to a person without filtering himself or hiding under a pseudonym. The confrontation could have been situated anywhere, pero pinili kong mag-confrontation sila sa main office area because I just felt, as mis-en-scene, na ang character ni Vince naka-express ng kanyang feelings in a public place, so it’s not merely expressing himself to his mom but the fact that he expressed himself in a public place and thereby he is already exposing his soul without fear. Because in a way that scene is the start of the character having courage to fight for himself and his love.

Honestly, I didn’t encounter any difficulty in shooting the scene. Things were pretty normal. I just told my actors the scene’s intent and their character’s emotional obligation and asked them to be truthful. And knowing Joshua’s background, I know makakahugot talaga siya sa eksena, and thankfully he did. I was also surprised how powerful the scene was when I previewed the rushes.”

10 – Satra crosses the river and meets the mother of the rival family (Women of the Weeping River) 5 points

Skilty Labastilla (Pinoy Rebyu): “Satra (Laila Putli P. Ulao) meeting Shadiya (Ma. Zimadar Caranay-Raper), her counterpart in the rival family towards the end of WWR, is one of the most powerful scenes in any cinema last year. Early in the movie, we first see Shadiya hurrying away from Satra in the public market. Later on, we learn that Shadiya’s family was responsible for killing Satra’s husband. Mid-film, it was Shadiya chasing Satra across the river to confront her about the revenge killing that just happened. This final encounter in the woods, where the two women at first warily size each other up, and then calmly, wordlessly look each other in the eyes, speaks volumes about women’s capacity to come up with non-violent solutions to a destructive practice that, for their men, may preserve honor and dignity in the short run, but for them, is counterproductive in the long run.

If this scene does not raise the hairs on the back of your neck and gives you hope that as long as women like Satra and Shadiya are around to defy their prideful, gun-loving men, things will get better, then cinema is not for you.”

Sheron Dayoc (writer/director): “The toughest part of scripting ‘Women of the Weeping River’ is how to end the film – to conclude in a reconciliation will be contrived; to end in a huge fight is expected or cliché. This allowed me to draw insight from the core narrative voice of the film – transcending beyond our imperfect and uncertain lives to go beyond our personal boundaries to find eventual acceptance for greater possibilities in life.

Furthermore, film may not hold the answer but hopefully this will help reexamine the centuries-fought disputes. I wish, through this film, to engage in a dialogue with the audience, allowing them to think and reflect about Mindanao in deeper perspectives.

Execution of the scene stems from the idea of a very long history of violence, the walk signifies uncertain path, a risky path that may only hold the answer to the long cycle of vendetta between Satra and Shadiya’s families. Key factor for the actors’ performances is the emotional connection they have with the film’s story, their personal struggles they share with the characters of the film.”